In the days following the shock dismissal of Thomas Tuchel, in the previous era at Chelsea the expectation would have been to replace one elite coach with another.
The name of Mauricio Pochettino was one quickly touted, even during some of the best runs of the Tuchel era given his balanced expertise in developing young talent and dealing at bigger clubs. He would have probably been the obvious play post-Tuchel, but instead, the new ownership went for the antithesis of the glamour name.
They looked for someone who fitted their cultural needs, someone who would hopefully align with a more collaborative approach in Graham Potter. Part of what was suggested in the aftermath of the appointment was that the new ownership group had been baffled at European football's ability to consistently reward a select group of names with consistent chances at the biggest clubs based on reputation, rather than the fact they had underperformed in their last role.
